Paper Mache: A Lollipop Complex
by Kaokitty2
Summary: Mitsuki Karamaro is a lively young demoness ready to take over Botan's job for a very special reason and yet she has one small problem she... is dead. Along with her Brothers and the Sprirt Detective team she is the only one who can save Spirit World.
1. Turtle Trouble

Welcome to A Lack of Balance! A lovely Hiei story and what not! Guaranteed cuteness, a dynamic story line, with a dash of humor. Please enjoy!

3 kaokitty2!

Turtle trouble 

That day was just like any other day, I guess. I woke with the sun, rolled up my sleeping bag. I had to kick my brothers out of their sleeping bags as well because they just can't do it them selves. I'm more responsible than they are and I'm their little sister! We then continued on our way after they finally finished. I swear sometimes this trip feels more like babysitting than teamwork. We consumed dry, tasteless, nutritional traveling snacks for breakfast and then we were walking again.

We often encountered others on the way to the spirit world pick up spot, for it always has to be so far out of the way (it's ridiculous). That day we saw only four. They were resting by the side of the road, lounging beneath a large shady tree. Two were bickering and two we carrying on a conversation as if nothing were amiss.

These were different though. Two, the two bickering of course, were humans but I could feel an immense power coming off of them. My brothers and I masked our energy so as not to arouse suspicion. As with all others, we exchanged pleasantries but kept it short. Nobody was particularly talkative around those parts. I wore a hat those days, which was highly uncomfortable but necessary.

Our path continued, unobstructed for the remainder of the day. We only stopped twice before it was too dark to continue. Then we went to bed.

That day was little different than the rest, like I have said before and yet it marked a turning point; a point when I knew everything was not going to be the way I wanted. What I had seen that day was to be my destiny. I was in for one heck of an adventure!

A disturbance in the trees sent the ground shaking and birds fleeing. Four men fought hard to keep their balance and one fell as a roar resonated around them. They couldn't tell its origins for trees surrounded them and the echoes came from every side.

The one on the ground promptly leapt up, his tall gawky frame easily taller than the others. Atop his head, he had an oddly styled crown of red hair.

"What was that?"

"Shut up," He was savagely answered by another. The man commanding him was by far the shortest there but he held a large authority in his ruby eyes. His hand rested lightly on the hilt of a concealed sword.

At first they were there to meet some people and now it looked like they were to have a fight as well.

"HIYAA!" shouted a foreign voice from a head of them.

"WAHOO!" Shouted another in answer. At the same time, a large turtle came bursting through the trees, heading straight for them. The men had to leap out of the way to avoid being crushed. Then two blurring figures rushed past them.

The men on the ground jumped up and readied their attacks when a lighter yet authoritative voice screamed, "DON'T TOUCH IT!" They watched in total astonishment as a third figure appeared slinging a rope through the air that caught the beast's ankle. Two more ropes caught the turtle monster around the neck and the back leg, securing it in place. "YOU!"

The shorter man turned a surprised expression upon the young girl who had called out to him. Her icy blue eyes held his attention raptly. Before he could take in anymore of her appearance, she tossed the end of the rope to him. "Hold this!" she commanded him. He had no time to argue for she let go and it took all of his strength and concentration to hold the rope steady. She disappeared from his side.

The demon continued to roar angrily, rather put out at not being able to move. By now the other three men had joined in on holding the ropes. All eyes were on the girl with the tan fisherman's hat who was standing in front of the angry turtle.

"OI!" She yelled at it. The turtle turned its angry attention on her and lunged, hoping to catch her unawares and in it's jaws. She jumped up at the last second, "Whoops, too slow!" She suddenly grinned as a large, wooden rod materialized in her hand. "YAAH!" She brought the staff down right between the eyes of the enraged turtle. It screeched in pain as a white light engulfed its body and a black mass materialized in the air above it. The girl landed lightly on the ground.

"THERE!" She went right up into the air again after the mass. Back on the ground a small, terrified turtle struggled to free itself from a pile of ropes but no one paid any attention to it. Their eyes were pealed on a small figure in the air that had thrust her hand out, touching the mass with her palm. "PURIFY!" her palm emitted a purple light that hit the dark thing. Suddenly a black blast ran through the middle of her own energy, hitting her in return and engulfing her entire hand.

The girl screamed and dropped back down on the ground crouched and angry.

"FINE! If that the way you're gonna play then…" in her hand a glass bottle glinted in the sunlight. With out another word she disappeared, running as fast as she could and blurred, into the trees. A tan fisherman's hat fluttered to the ground and landed with a soft flump! at the feet of all the standing men. A stunned silence fell over the remaining group of men.

"Right! I'm Iro! How are you?" one of the turtle vanquishers piped up amidst the stunned silence. As for an answer none came.

"I am Iwa, Iro's brother," The both untied the matching red bandanas that had covered the tops of their heads.

"Hn. Cat demons," muttered the short, irate fire demon.

The men were not tall, by all standards. They were obviously twins with matching pale blue eyes that were slit like a cat and silky black ears on top of their heads; their hair was a similar deep black that was almost purple. Whisker like markings adorned their cheeks and their tails were the same color as their ears.

"So are you guys-"Iro was interrupted by a smaller and less violent than the turtles bush-and-tree-crashing as the young woman reappeared. She fought for a second to disentangle her fighters out fit from snagging bushes.

'What do you think, Kurama? Are those them?' the fire demon asked another man at his side through telepathy. His friend, Kurama, turned his contemplative green eyes onto his friend.

'I don't know Hiei but probably. It's a girl we have come for. Lets wait for some sign from Kuwabara,' Kurama pushed a lock of red hair out of his eyes to glance at the tall red headed man.

"Urameshi," Kuwabara said to Yusuke, which happened to be Urameshi's first name, looking rather uneasy.

"What do you want? I'd like to introduce my self now. I am _the_ Spirit Detective," Yusuke whispered back rather annoyed

"That girl is dead!" Kuwabara swallowed hard.

"Didn't Koenma say he wanted us to bring her to Spirit World?"

"Yeah,"

"Well maybe that's why stupid!"

"That makes since but it still gives me the creeps," Kuwabara shuddered.

'It is them,' Hiei said telepathically then shortly closed his mind not bothering to wait for a reply.

"Got him! The little bugger…" The girl peered into the black, swirling substance that was the demonic cloud. She then nearly dropped it with fright from seeing Iro and Iwa's ears poking out of the top of their hair.

"GAH! Y-you guys!" She stammered panicky. "Your… " She whispered loudly, "E-A-R-S!" She had covered her mouth from the others.

"Hey! It's not like we cant spell you know!" Yusuke yelled at her, his brown eyes filled with defiance and shiny, black hair slicked back.

"Shut up Urameshi…" muttered Kuwabara the red head. "It's not cool to mess with the dead people,"

"Mitsuki…" Iwa pointed at her head and then her hat that was still lying sadly on ground. He cleared his throat and gazed into the sky. Her panicked expression doubled.

"WHA?!" She covered her own ears, "OH! Ah… um… these… aren't- AH haha… they're just COSTUMES! Ha ha! Costumes…"

"Mimi! I think they are here for us!" Iwa said, laughing. "It's a little too late to hide it anyway!"

"You are right. I'm glad to make your acquaintance," Kurama walked forward with Hiei not far behind, they always being the first to recover from anything. "I'm Kurama and this is Hiei," Hiei nodded, noting with interest at how the young girl had her hand hidden behind her throw over. It was blue with

purple dragonflies bordering the edges. She wore white pants and, unlike Kurama's traditional yellow outfit he wore once, she opted for no sleeves.

"Nice to meet you as well!" said Mitsuki, blowing a curly strand of hair out of her face.

Her hair, which was the first thing anyone noticed, was a vibrant orange and tightly curled. She had it pulled back into a corkscrewy mass behind her head but many tightly wound curls escaped and framed her face, contrasting nicely with her pale, ice blue eyes. The color of her eyes seemed to be the only evidence that she was related to her brothers. Her tail was of matching orange and looked as if it had been dipped in black paint.

On the side, another conversation was still flourishing.

"But Urameshi, if she is dead, why does she still have a body?"

"How would I know? Aren't you supposed to be the spiritual sense guru here?" Yusuke answered hotly but quietly, pretending to be interested in Kurama's introductory conversation with the twin brothers. The cat girl, Mitsuki, was dusting off her hat, muttering something about a turtle.

"Her energy is a lot like Botan's. Maybe that's why she's here,"

Yusuke did not answer but was looking rather thoughtful as he joined the others in initiatory merrymaking.

"Hey Iro! Iwa!" Mitsuki called, interrupting. Hiei and Kurama watched with mild interest as she quickly hid her hand behind the cotton overthrow, which caused her to grimace ever so slightly. "Pick up these ropes! I'd like a crack at introducing my self!"

"Right away Mimi-chan!" Iro saluted her.

"Yeah sure," Iwa dragged his twin away.

"I'm Mitsuki! You're here to take me to spirit world?"

"Yeah, I'm Yu-" Yusuke was cut off as Kuwabara interjected himself in the middle.

"Yes! We are here to take your lovely self to spirit world! Never fear my love for I am Kazuma Kuwa-"

"I'm sure! And you are?" Mitsuki turned away and fixed her gaze on Hiei, leaving Kuwabara rather dumbfounded and put out.

Hiei said nothing.

"That's Hiei, the "bad cop". I'm Yusuke Urameshi, _the_ spirit detective. Hiei's just shy in the presence of pretty girls,"

Hiei gave Yusuke a glare that could kill a horse and continue beating it afterwards.

"Right then!" Iwa packed a last coil of rope away before shouldering the bag. "Shall we go?"

"Yes! The meeting point has to be only five minutes away! We were almost there when that turtle showed!" Mitsuki said.

"Then let us proceed."

The strange group moved on silently, either on their respective sides. The conversation was light and even Iro was relatively quiet. It was a protective silence.

"There it is!" Iro pointed suddenly to a small ramshackle hut on top of a hill. They stopped to stare. It really didn't look like much.

"It may look better when we get closer," Kurama suggested.

It didn't.

The shack was a sad, shabby affair. It was rotting, covered with lichen and moss. There were holes and cracks in the wood and the whole edifice looked only big enough for two people. It seemed moments from collapsing. They all stared at it wordlessly.

Kurama reached the door, examining the rusty knob.

"It seems this can only be opened with spirit energy," He tried to handle only to recoil sharply. "and not mine. It is probably fit for yours, Yusuke,"

Yusuke reached confidently out to grip the handle.

"Ow! What the-?"

"We'll take that as a sign it is not his?" Hiei asked, his voice sold and detached.

"Well…" Iwa, said, swiveling his ears back in stupefaction, "We didn't try it. We were waiting for you," Everyone gathered around the door, taking turns only to be denied with a sharp electric shock. It must have been a funny sight to passersby.

"Here!" Mitsuki piped up brightly, "Let me try!"

"No, no Mit-chan," said Iro dismissively. She pouted.

"Then can I just _look_ at it?" She whined. Hiei snorted with disgust. Her ears swiveled towards him but he didn't care if she had heard. It was disgusting how she had them wrapped around her finger.

"Alright," Iro caved first, "But don't touch it!" he warned. Mitsuki just rolled her eyes and kneeled to examine the doorknob. She suddenly saw a pattern in the rust, like carvings, not with out rhyme or reason. It had symmetry. She squealed catching every one slightly off guard and grasped the doorknob firmly.

Iro and Iwa started forward with concern, hissing softly with displeasure something the others weren't ready for. They soon stopped, as Mitsuki had not reacted to what should have been a bolt of pain. Instead she had released her spirit energy.

Everyone observed with awe as here energy ran through the rust like water being poured into a maze, dissolving the substance away.

"There!" she said happily, dusting her hands off smugly. She turned the now sparkling knob and pushed the door open. "Welcome home!"


	2. Curiosity May Make The Cat Kill YOU!

A new story, a new chapter, what have I gotten myself into!?

**Curiosity may Make the Cat Kill You**

It was interesting, that day, it really was. Our secrets exposed and our lives beginning their new tracks.

Whether it was fate or just some strange coincidence, that was the day that I had fallen in love, not knowing I was changing the course of what should have happened or taking the necessary steps to fulfill whatever prophecy I was destined for. All I knew was that these people would influence whatever course I was going to follow. They would be my family, my loved ones that would ever be there.

That left me to wonder, years after, if my life was fated in this course or if I was charging blindly in whatever was to fall and playing with time and lives. Whether the end consequences could have been different if I had run, refused, or just had done my duty in the end regardless of personal feelings, or if they were going to happen one way or another. Or maybe the end of my adventure was formed by a twisted inconsistency of both fate and freewill? Each action piled upon one another, melted away layer by layer. Which one went first? One bit by choice, the swift crunch, or the other, slowly drawn out in a deliberate way, but the layers would come no matter what.

I guess the world may never know.

"What was that?" Yusuke yelled.

"It needed to be purified was all," Mitsuki replied simply, shrugging and retrieving her belongings.

"It makes sense," Kurama added thoughtfully, throwing in his two cents, "The knob could have been opened by anyone normally, but it was the rust that that was meant for only Mitsuki's purifying energy," He said reasonably. Everyone paused to look down the stairs that the door had opened upon leading down into the darkness.

"Are we going in or do we have to stare at it?" Hiei growled impatiently from the back of the group.

"After you," Kurama said politely to Mitsuki, she smiled brightly at him and marched proudly down the stairs.

"It's really dark down here!" Kuwabara said nervously. "You don't think there will be…" he shuddered, "_mice…_ down here, do you?"

"Don't worry!" Mitsuki called from the front as they reached another door, this one normal. She swung it open. "I'll take care of any," she giggled then walked inside.

"Whoa! It's HUGE!" Yusuke marveled. Even Hiei seemed somewhat impressed.

The unlikely group found themselves deep underground in a well-furnished cavern. It was well-lit and made for comfort with easily enough space for their party. In the middle of the room there was a couch flanked by a soft chair and a stack of pillows. The setting faced a small fireplace accompanied by a neat stack of wood. Kurama immediately moved towards it with the intention of starting a fire. Despite the warm day, it was chilly underground. There was also a small kitchen which Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Iro made sure was well stocked.

"A bedroom," Iwa remarked peeking in one of the little rooms leading out of the rooms. There were six of them plus a quaint bathroom with a little shower.

Mitsuki threw her self backwards on the stack of pillows nearly burying her.

"Mmmm… No bugs!" She squealed from beneath the mountain of pillows. "Me like,"

"Greetings team!"

Everyone in the room jumped.

A screen dropped from where it had been concealed on the ceiling. A slanty-eyed child was centered in the screen.

"Jeez Koenma!" Yusuke yelled as soon as he swallowed what ever had lodged in his throat after Koenma's unannounced arrival. "Could you have given us some kind of, oh I don't know… WARNING?!"

"Aww… my tail!" Mitsuki groaned trying to smooth the fur on her tail. 

"Ah!" Koenma exclaimed, focusing his attention on the cat girl, "You must Mitsuki Karamaro! Let me be the first to welcome and introduce you to your new instructor!"

"Oh… okay," Mitsuki nodded hesitantly after climbing to her feet. Her brothers came to stand by her.

"Hello everyone!" A blue haired girl with pretty purple eyes appeared in place of Koenma.

"Hey Botan!" Kuwabara yelled, waving enthusiastically at the screen.

"Hey there Kuwabara!" she wiggled her fingers at him in return. Then, with a glint her eye that was a little terrifying, Botan turned on Mitsuki.

"You must be Mitsuki! Oh, I'm so pleased to meet you! Are these your brothers?" Botan clapped with delight when Mitsuki nodded. She was enjoying her new teacher's sunny attitude.

"This one is Iwa and the other one is Iro," Mitsuki said and Botan laughed.

"I'm gonna have a hard time telling you two apart!"

"Mitsuki," said Iwa, his eyebrows knitted, "Is this _really_ the Grim Reaper?"

"Who cares!" mumbled Iro, his cheeks a prominent shade or red, "as long as…" he trailed off and walked away still mumbling.

"Well anyway…" Botan watched him then snapped back into the current situation, "Spirit World regulations require that we wait for twenty four hours upon contact before opening a portal so you'll all have to wait till… four o'clock tomorrow!"

Yusuke opened his mouth angrily.

"Can it Yusuke!" she said brightly never missing a beat.

"So I have twenty four hours to hang out," Mitsuki raised her eyebrow in jest, "…Sort of like a last meal?"

Botan giggled hysterically. "I like your spirit Mitsuki! Your gonna need one for this job!"

Mitsuki joined her. "You need a good spirit to guide those of other people I guess and a good sense of humor,"

At this point everyone was either rolling their eyes or leaving to do something productive or laughing along.

"Well then!" Koenma shoved an unsuspecting Botan out of the way. They heard a yelp and a thud from somewhere behind Koenma. He paused. "Sorry Botan… well you're here for the night so I suggest that you all get to know each other and make the most of it! Or whatever you teens do now a days or... if you're not a teen then just… well… whatever you do have fun. Bye!" The screen went blank and retracted slowly into the ceiling.

"…So male pattern bonding anyone?" Iro queried enthusiastically, rubbing his hands together expectantly. Everyone just stared at him.

"So which room is which?" Kurama asked, the room waking up again, leaving Iro hanging dejectedly.

"I know how you feel pal," Kuwabara patted Iro on the shoulder reassuringly. "Don't let it get to you,"

Mitsuki settled in an empty room, it going with out being said that she have one being the only girl. She kindly offered for one of her brothers to sleep on the couch but the Spirit Detective told them Kuwabara would be glad to do it. She left them to duke it out.

The rooms were small and cozy with a single person bed, a chair, and a desk with a mirror. Only a temporary one for a short stay, but she never wanted to leave it nonetheless. But, again she had no choice. She dropped her bag on the chair and set the bottle on the desk where she could see it. While it was indeed contained and warded you never knew.

"Mmm…" Mitsuki lay on the bed and stretched cat like.

Carefully she lifted her hand form beneath her clothes finally settling long enough to inspect it. She made sure her door was tightly shut.

Mitsuki winced as she tried to flex her red and blistered fingers. The impure aura of the evil demonic soul had changed some of her own energy, manipulating it until it would turn against her. She was surprised and a little frightened by the strength of the spirit. If her purifying abilities had been less potent, she shuddered; it would have taken control of her.

Her hand was a mess. Her skin was raw; there were even some open wounds. But, she still did not bleed. Traces of the evil essence was still there, it wouldn't be dangerous to her own spirit but it would repel any outside healing attempts until it burned out. She couldn't hide it for long. The burn would worry her brothers making them angrier than they already were. But this path was her decision and she would go down it anyway so they will just have to deal.

Quickly she drew a length of clean cotton bandage from her bag and wrapped it up the best she could, shielding it from the air. She sighed hoping to hide it for as long as she could. She laid her head on her pillow feeling the fatigue more than usual. She hated sleeping but against her wishes she drifted off. Then the burning started as her tail curled up around her.

"Hey, hey! Mit-chan!" Iro clamored into the room, knocking only once. "We're going to eat soo-" When he saw she was quietly sleeping he snapped his mouth shut and smiled.

"Iro! I give you the easiest job in the world and-"

"Shut up! She's asleep!" The brothers paused in the door way before quietly entering.

"Should we wake her?" Iro asked. Iwa hissed suddenly with such vehemence that it startled Iro.

"Would you look at this?" Iwa sat carefully on the edge of the bed as to not disturb his sister. He carefully lifted his sister's badly wrapped hand for his brother to see. Mitsuki's frown deepened at his touch.

Iro grimaced as the bandage only unraveled further. "That is no ordinary burn. It will take a long time to heal and will scar deeply. Maybe when she wakes up I can treat it to sooth the pain,"

Iwa's anger would not be lessened. "Who's idea was it for her to take this job?" he demanded.

"It was her's ultimately and you know that! Don't make it harder on her Iwa. She can already see our discomfort, well more than that, it's not like it's hard to see it either…" His eyes took on a menacing glint, "But who ever killed her made sure that her body would be destroyed and for that they're going to pay. It was no accident,"

A solemn silence descended on them as they watched their little sister slumber.

"Come on lets let her sleep," Iwa tugged his brother up.

"Yeah… I'm so hungry I could eat… a lot of food,"

Iwa just shook his head and closed the door behind them.

Hours later, Mitsuki gasped and sat up quickly drenched in sweat. The nightmares were just horrible. The screaming; the fire; the pain.

For some reason she had no idea where she was. Oh yes it was a strange new place with her brothers and new comers. Where? Somewhere in the human realm, trying to meet up with heads of Spirit World. Why? Because she was dead.

Her waking thoughts always consisted of such. She'd wake up feeling dead as if only the lightest thread held her soul to this earth. Which in a way was true.

A single silver chain hanged delicately around her neck. It was brought to her by a reaper of Spirit World to anchor her soul to this copy of her body. On the chain hung a tiny charm with a containing energy that attached her soul to this world. A blue pearl, held in a netting of hard wrought iron. She fingered it absently as had become a habit.

Mitsuki shook her head clear, somewhat appalled with herself for sleeping like she had. What happened to the cat nap theory? She leaned to climb off the bed putting pressure on her right hand.

Pain shot up her arm causing her to give a small yowl and a large string of curses.

She had almost forgotten the state her hand was in. Instinctively she brought her hand to her face, licking the tips of her fingers gingerly. She made a face. Even the evil essence had made her _skin_ taste bad. Her stomach growled and she sighed. She needed to eat but she necessarily didn't want to do so. Mitsuki hoped everyone was asleep as she slipped from her room.

Mitsuki's cat eyes changed to fit the low light, pupils moving to take in as much light. Her steps were light as her slightly padded feet moved with only slight noise and practiced ease around objects in the dark. Then silence was punctuated only by the snores of who ever was asleep on the couch. By the sound of it, it was Kuwabara. Mitsuki found her way into the corner with the kitchen. Furtively she opened the door to the small fridge standing in front of it to try and block most of light. She found a plate set aside covered by a napkin with a small note on it.

_Here love_. Mitsuki smiled at the unmistakable handwriting of Iwa. He was always watching over her and Iro was there too.

On the plate were a little fruit, cold pizza, and what appeared to be the last of the dried fish they had carried with them. Mitsuki took her plate and slipped quietly up the stairs and out the door. She heard him before she saw him, her ears swiveling to the right.

"Oh, hello," she said lightly, meeting easily the steady, cold gaze of Hiei.

He was leaning casually against the wall of the rundown shack, hands held up behind his head. Mitsuki kept her burned hand at her side as she sat on the left side of the door.

"Nice night isn't it?" she balanced her plate on her knee as Hiei nodded once before closing his eyes. She picked at the plate off food nibbling here and there but only a little.

Hiei may not have looked such but it was unnerving to sit in her presence. Her energy seemed to pulse through a hollow body, it essence echoing to his Jagan enhanced awareness. It seemed to fill nothing, its pulse strange as if it had nothing to contain it but just fragile paper walls that it could easily break. An unpleasant feeling at best that made his skin crawl.

Mitsuki watched the sky, taking comfort in that it at least had some continuous pattern that was reliable. She didn't like to eat in front of others. And now that she was dead, food tasted of sand. The evil aura was biting at her hand making her face contort with pain. She stole a glance at Hiei making sure he was not paying attention. Very carefully she lifted her hand to tuck in the continuously unraveling dressings.

"Is your hand still intact?" Hiei asked, his voice containing a slight edge, which she had learned to identify with his character.

She flinched, her walls immediately rising. She hesitated before lifting her hand for him to see.

"It's okay. It'll heal soon enough," she shrugged. The pathetic bandage flopped further down a finger, revealing part of the broiled skin in the moonlight. "Um… right. Whatever," she blushed feeling kind of silly.

She removed her hand from view in an attempt to close the subject. Hiei grunted in disgust. Without a word he stood and knelt by her side. Mitsuki shied away, her ears flattening against her head in surprise and disgust. The plate, only half eaten, was tipping precariously.

"If you're not going to treat it properly then at least bandage it correctly," Hiei growled lifting her hand gently.

Mitsuki's eyes flashed dangerously as she emitted a low hiss and she jerked her hand away.

"I said leave it be,"

It had been enough. Hiei had felt the evil power living in her hand, pulsing against her own strange energy, trying to take over. Even so, his short fuse had been lit.

Hiei glared at her menacingly and walked away.

Mitsuki grimaced.

"Wait! I'm sorry," she said lamely, guilt already twisting her insides, "I have a temper. It's really no excuse though. I'd just rather nobody knew I was hurt for as long as possible," she stared at the ground.

Hiei stopped but refused to turn around, prepared to hear her apology only. But he couldn't resist a comment or two.

"You can't hide secrets well. Your brothers and everyone else already knew,"

Mitsuki ignored the biting tone in his words. Instead she looked at her mangled hand and smiled sadly at it.

"It really is a bad job. Iro was always the healer," She said thoughtfully.

"That idiot?" Hiei scoffed unbelievingly. Mitsuki looked at him sharply, narrowing her eyes but saying nothing. Hiei watched her unflinchingly.

"Thanks anyway," she said stiffly. Hiei nodded once before stunning her with his speed by simply disappearing from view.

Mitsuki smiled wanly back at the moon's face. A sighing breeze whispered over the small hill teasing her already frenzied hair.

She felt so empty inside. Not emotionally but literally. She shook her head and stood to make her way to the side of the shabby abode.

Under the cover of night, Mitsuki trembled as her body rejected all that she had eaten that evening. She had hardly consumed anything leaving her stomach to come up in mostly dry heaves. She had yet to harness the strangeness of her new body. It ached with hollow hunger close to that of the living but it could hold nothing. She ate to retain the appearance of normality when only she needed to drink water to sustain her body.

Secretly Mitsuki longed for the day when she would assume the position laid out for her. The day when she could assume the necessary body that would allow her to do the job she was brought through all realms for. It would be the closest thing to living that she could get.

Mitsuki sighed staring into the stars again. She finally landed back on earth to pick up her plate to return it back inside. It was a pity the food was soiled. She could have saved it for the others. She tossed it far away so no one would notice. If Hiei hadn't have been there then she wouldn't have needed to eat at all.

Tomorrow evening, she reminded herself; tomorrow evening things would be better for her and every one else. She would no longer be another's burden and they could continue on. Mitsuki held her wounded hand to her chest as she descended into the grandiose shack.

So what did you think? Hmm?


End file.
